In arid areas of the world water is becoming one of the most precious natural resources. Meeting future water needs in these arid areas may require aggressive conservation measures. Each individual living or working in these arid areas should take the initiative to start conserving water. Most individuals are aware of some of the steps they can take to conserve water, such as installing low or ultra low flush toilets, installing water saving shower heads, sweeping rather than hosing off the driveway, checking for leaks in the water system and irrigation system, and irrigating the landscape efficiently. However, with the last two steps, many individuals may not be aware of leaks in their water lines or irrigation systems and/or they are not aware of what measures they can take to irrigate their landscapes more efficiently.
Signature data is data that is specific to a certain individual or thing and is based on a particular characteristic or quality that is specific to that individual or thing. Signature analysis (also known as flow trace analysis) was used by government agencies to obtain information about water use patterns in residences. Flow trace analysis is described in various publications, including DeOreo, W. B., J. P. Heaney, and P. W. Mayer. 1996a. Flow Trace Analysis to Assess Water Use. Jour. AWWA, 88 (1):79–90, Dziegielewski, B., E. M. Opitz, J. C. Kiefer, D. D. Baumann, M. Winer, W. Illingworth, W. O. Maddaus, P. Macy, J. J. Boland, T. Chestnutt, and J. O. Nelson. 1993b. Evaluating Urban Water Conservation Programs: A Procedure's Manual. Denver, Colo.: AWWA, and Mayer, P. W. and W. B. DeOreo. 1995. Process Approach for Measuring Residential Water Use and Assessing Conservation Effectiveness. Proc. Of 1995 Annual Conference. Anaheim, Calif.: AWWA. The government agencies generally gathered this information to assist them to better understand the water use patterns in residences. However, this information was not fed back to individuals nor used for feedback to an irrigation controller and/or was not easily accessible to individuals to assist them in achieving greater efficiency in their water use.
The present invention uses signature data, generated from water using devices that are executed from start to finish, to assist individuals to improve water use efficiency. The signature data for all devices at a given water using site is preferably obtained from only a single water meter, which may advantageously comprise the meter installed by the water district to service the site.
There are methods, other than signature data, used to determine the water used during execution of water using devices. One such method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,721,383 issued February 1998 to Franklin, et al. A flow meter is put on each water line that transfers water to the water using device. However, due to the cost, this flow meter system would likely only be used for research purposes since it would not be feasible for homeowners to install flow meters for each of their water using devices.
Water system leaks can result in water waste of as high as 100 gallons per day. Various apparatus have been patented to detect leaks in water lines and irrigation systems. A leak detection device is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,409 issued August 1991 to Kiewit. An acoustic sensor and associated electronic circuitry are used to determine when a catastrophic leak occurs in an irrigation system. This apparatus would only detect catastrophic leaks and many leaks are not of a catastrophic nature but still may result in a substantial waste of water over an extended period of time.
Another leak detection device is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,011 issued October 1999 to Price. Information is supplied to a microprocessor, which determines a maximum allowable quantity of water that may flow over a specified period of time. If the maximum amount of water is exceeded, during the set period of time, then the flow of water is automatically shut off. The shut off device has to be manually reset to allow the water to flow again. As with the patent, mentioned in the previous paragraph, so also with this patent, it would most likely only shut off the flow of water when a catastrophic leak occurred. Individuals would not want the flow of water shut off unless a leak had likely occurred. Therefore, they would set the water quantity amount high so activation of the automatic shutoff didn't occur when only slightly excessive water was used during the specific set time period.
A better leak detection method would be able to detect small leaks as well as catastrophic leaks, and would feed this information back to individuals so they are aware that there is a leak and provide feedback to an irrigation controller. The present invention meets these requirements.
To irrigate their landscapes more efficiently requires individuals to schedule the watering of their landscapes when the plants need the water. This is being addressed by the manufacture and sale of irrigation controllers that apply water based on potential evapotranspiration (ETo). However, such irrigation controllers are frequently quite expensive and therefore the irrigation users will not replace their present controllers until they have flow anomalies with them. Therefore, to try achieve efficient watering of their landscapes, irrigation users will manually vary the settings on their presently installed irrigation controllers.
To achieve efficient watering, with many of the automatic systems installed today, requires knowledge of the amount of water required to maintain plants in a healthy condition, and the application rate of the irrigation system. Some states are now providing, via radio and other media, the quantity of water required to maintain plants in a healthy condition. To use this information irrigation users must know what the application rate of their irrigation system is. This can be determined by catching the water and determining, from the amount of water caught over a period of time, what the application rate is. The application rate can also be determined by checking at the meter the amount of water flowing through the water meter over a period of time and knowing the area irrigated. However, because of the time and work involved in determining the application rate, by either of the above methods, very few individuals will determine the application rate of their irrigation system.
The present invention will assist individuals to easily determine the application rate, which they can then use, with ETo data, to improve the efficiency in the irrigating of their landscapes.